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Sunrisers Hyderabad's big-hitting opener David Warner, who has been dropped from the playing XI because of poor form, has said that he won't be seen at the stadium 'again', hinting that his stint with the struggling franchise could be over.
Warner was axed for the IPL match against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. England opener Jason Roy, who replaced Warner, made most of the opportunity, top-scoring with a quickfire 60 from 42 balls, to power Sunrisers to a seven-wicket victory, with nine balls to spare.
That win aside, the franchise has battled a poor run with only two wins from 10 matches, which has left them at the bottom of the points table and out of contention for a play-offs berth.
Warner's absence from the team dugout did not go unnoticed and fans wondered about his whereabouts underneath an instagram post by SRH.
Responding to the queries, Warner posted, "Unfortunately won't be again but keep supporting, please."
Warner, 34, is one of the IPL's most successful batsmen and ranks fifth in the all-time list of run-scorers, the highest of all the international players to have featured in the annual T20 tournament.
Warner has been woefully out of form this season, having accumulated just 181 runs in eight matches so far at an average of 24.37. His strike rate, at present, is the lowest in all his IPL stints, making it his worst season in the league.
The 34-year-old joined Sunrisers in 2014 and captained the side to its maiden IPL title in 2016.
Dropped from the leadership role after the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, he came back as skipper in 2020.
He was again removed as captain during the first leg of this season due to the team's poor run and differences with Team Director Tom Moody and head coach Trevor Bayliss.
With Hyderabad out of contention for the playoffs, Bayliss said Warner and a few others were left out to give an opportunity to younger players.
"We can't make the final so have made a decision that we want the young players to experience not just the matches but time at the ground, around the set-up, and for this match we made the decision," Bayliss said.
"He was not the only experienced player we left back at the hotel. We have a number of young players that haven't been to the ground. Even as reserves. We wanted to give them an opportunity to come along and experience that. That may continue for a few more games yet."
The second half of the IPL season was shifted to the UAE, which will also play host to the World Cup from October 17.